Meet Hudson Taylor

Hudson Taylor are an Irish folk pop duo from Dublin consisting of brothers Harry @HarryHudTay (21) and Alfie @AlfieHudTay (19) Hudson-Taylor. Growing up with a musician for a father and a dancer for a mother it’s hardly surprising the boys caught the musical bug and they began busking from a very early age. Not only that, their family would host an annual party for the community where the lads would sing together and perfect their harmonies to folk music and Beatles songs. Upon the suggestion from others that they should video their performances, the duo decided to upload their first cover (Champagne Supernova by Oasis) in August 2008, and so began their sure and steady popularity climb. They uploaded more and more covers, going on to introduce their own songs which resulted in the YouTube views sky-rocketing, later adding more musicians to form the complete band they are today.

Currently signed to Polydor Records in the UK, Hudson Taylor released their debut EP Battles in August 2012 where it reached #1 on iTunes Ireland and #14 on iTunes UK. They went on to release their follow up EP Cinematic Lifestyle in November 2012 and as of now are recording their first full length album, but in the mean-time, a new EP entitled Osea is due for release on October 13th.

Whilst supporting Jake Bugg on a recent tour the band were able to showcase their raw and catchy songs. With their undiluted, gorgeous Irish accents and quirky style, the boys stand out from the crowd. They certainly hold their own in the new wave of folk musicians and their early days of street busking have clearly left them with the ability to capture a crowd’s attention (which is possibly due to the brothers’ palpable enthusiasm and obvious joy when they’re up on stage).

But it’s not just about enjoying the crowd up there, the clever duo used the tour as an opportunity to gauge how people react to their music. An album, after all, is a huge leap from an EP and there’s no apparent rush to release an album until they’re completely satisfied that the material they put out is going to work. With the release of their 3rd EP Osea in October, the band are tentatively testing the waters of their increasing popularity. Having appeared at many festivals this year (including the Cambridge Folk Festival) and realising they have a true fanbase building up (thanks in part to the feedback they receive via twitter and the show of support from the likes of BBC Radio 2 DJ Dermot O’Leary) the duo are being careful not to be too hasty. Which I think shows how important the songs they’re writing are to them, as Harry pointed out last week on twitter:

“They’re very personal to us.. We write about things happening in our lives.”

Believe me when I say they have come along way from that first upload, but at no point have they lost the initial sparkle of individuality they had when I first encountered their music two years ago. The band sometimes comment that people don’t remember their name yet, but I’m certain that theirs is a name that people will soon be unable to forget.

Osea is released October 13th and can be pre-ordered on UK iTunes here: http://hudtay.ht/oseaitunes